Kongos in Atlanta at the Masquerade with Yip Yap and Fitness

Written By | Samuel Pena

The show took place at the Masquerade, an iconic venue located in the heart of Downtown Atlanta. The Masquerade first came to existence in 1989, and has since changed locations from an old mill in Old 4th Ward to the classic Kenny’s Alley in Underground Atlanta. The venue is actually comprised of three separate spaces, the appropriately named Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell, with today’s featured show taking place in Hell.

See More Photos of Yip Yap Here

The show started off with a performance by Yip Yap, a dynamic duo hailing from Coachella Valley, California. The two-piece is fronted by Ison Van Winkle, a blonde charismatic singer with a wailing deep voice, and Ross Murakami, an equally impressive drummer giving his all throughout the group’s set. Backing synth tracks filled out the sound, all-together creating a high energy dynamic that got the early crowd moving and warmed up for the following two sets.

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Following Yip Yap with their own high energy set was Fitness, an alternative rock group from Los Angeles California. Fitness is a 3-piece composed of Max Collins, the sarcastic mohawked singer and frontman for the band, Kenny Carkeet, the endearing guitarist and synth player, and an energetic long-haired drummer. This is Fitness’s second tour with the Kongos, and a good relationship between the two bands was evident, as playful banter was exchanged throughout both their sets. The highlight of Fitness’s set involved Max adopting a meditative lotus position in the middle of the stage while Kenny played experimental synth noises in the background, before transitioning over to a rocker to finish the set.

See More Photos of Kongos Here

Following Fitness were the headliners and stars of the show, The Kongos. The Kongos is a South African rock band now hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, and is composed of four brothers, Dylan, Johnny, Jesse, and Daniel Kongos. The Kongos are unique in that they possess no true frontman, with all members perfectly lined up next to each other on the stage and each taking turns singing their songs. The band played a high energy show, mixing older classics with material from their recently released albums, “1929, Pt. 1”  and “1929, Pt. 2”. The crowd reception to the music was very positive, with most people dancing and singing along to the catchy songs.

Highlights of the set included the hit songs “Come With Me Now” and “I’m Only Joking”, which got the crowd jumping around and ended the band’s regular set. After momentarily leaving the stage, the band returned to play their encore to a very excited crowd. The encore began with a rock cover of the classic Beatle’s song, “A Day In the Life”, and ended with another one of the Kongos’s hits, “Hey I Don’t Know”. This high energy song was the perfect closer for the Kongos’s amazing set!

Photo Credit: Samuel Pena